Lee County tourism director ‘bullish’ about summer
Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau Executive Director Tamara Pigott is looking to the summer with optimism, she told Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce members at a March 10 virtual business meeting.
“I’m very bullish on the summer,” she said. “We are going to have a bang-up summer. We don’t know what we are going to do with all the people who will be coming — we are expecting that much demand. It’s going to be like season this summer; fingers crossed, that’s how I’m looking at it.”
Along with VCB Director of Marketing Brian Ososky, she reviewed the agency’s efforts, especially as they relate to reacting to the pandemic. The county has shifted seasonal spending in 2021 to a winter focus. This year’s weighted winter spending comprises 26.9 percent of the annual advertising and promotions budget, compared to 14.7 percent in 2020. Summer season spending will thereby decrease slightly, from 39.2 percent last year to 30.4 percent in 2021.
Pigott said that decrease does not worry her, however, because of how visitor markets have shifted and public relations efforts have paid off, including a cover shot of Sanibel on April’s Southern Living issue on “The South’s Best.”
The VCB targets some new summer drive and fly markets based on research indicating tourism trends. For example, Jacksonville, Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee, have strengthened as drive markets with the COVID-19 situation.
“Don’t forget to market locally,” Ososky advised. “People love to vacation in their own backyard, and that’s especially true during the pandemic.”
New target markets include Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Dayton and Toledo, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Providence, Rhode Island. Statistics also show a strengthening of visitor numbers from the Northwest, south California, and Denver, Colorado, thanks to new airline flights.
The VCB pivoted to meet pandemic demands and trends with the introduction of podcasts, a new consumer Website on the horizon, 360-degree tours for “visitor-facing businesses,” and its new Sun Saver Passport. Looking ahead to fall and to 2022, the team is already planning for the Island Hopper Songwriters Festival and the return of international and group travel.
“We have a plan for both ways for Island Hopper,” Pigott said. “We don’t know what that’s going to look like, in all fairness. We have to see where consumers are at that point. Visitors drive how we manage things; what they’re comfortable and uncomfortable with drives that.”
She predicted that leisure travel will rule the industry again in 2022, depending upon how international travel recovers.
“We’re looking for more normalized trends. We’re certainly proud of you as a community,” she told chamber members. “You are one of the highlights of the area, and we are grateful for the conservation ethic you bring to the destination.”
“Thanks for everything you do for us and our community,” chamber President John Lai said. “We appreciate your enthusiasm, optimism, and tremendous efforts.”
In his announcements, Lai talked about what the chamber is doing to push its legislative priorities during the current session, including hosting U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds next month to impress upon him the importance of fighting for Everglades restoration. He also introduced new Visitor Center Manager Aaron Walton, who grew up on Sanibel.